Months Ago
by Aeterna
Summary: OotP SPOILERS! What really happened at the Yule Ball from Ginny's POV.


**_~Months Ago~_**

A/N: I've seen a lot of Yule Ball fics in which Ginny has gorgeous robes. I think that this is a bit unfair, seeing that Ron's are hideous, so I made a compromise. I tried to make Ginny in this fic as much like OotP!Ginny as possible. I hope I did her justice.

A/N2: Elisa Abignente is my own creation. She'll appear later in a fic I'm co-writing with some friends, but I decided to give her something to do while we're waiting ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own the scene, nor do I the characters (except for Elisa). I'm certainly not trying to make money off of this, so don't worry about it.

~~*~*~~

Ginny surveyed herself in the mirror. She figured she'd done the best she could with what was given her. Her robes were white (a bit yellowed with age, seeing as they were second-hand) and too frilly, but at least they fit well. She had transfigured her regular school shoes into white dress shoes with a bit of a heel and her usually-wayward bright red hair was swept up into an elegant French twist (Victoria had a way with hairstyling).

All in all, Ginny figured she'd done very well. There really wasn't any reason for her to go overboard. It wasn't as if she was going with Harry or anything ... the prat. But it was really sweet of Neville to ask her, and she was determined to enjoy herself.

"You're so lucky, Ginny," her roommate, Claudia said enviously. "I wish I could go to the Yule Ball, but nobody ever bothered to ask me." Natalie had been trying to get Dean Thomas's attention all week, but he'd been trying to work up the courage to ask Parvati Patil, who ended up going with Harry anyway. He ended up asking Elisa Abignente, a third-year Ravenclaw girl.

"You'll get the play-by-play tonight when I get back, okay?" Ginny said. "But I don't expect it'll be all that interesting anyway."

"Are you kidding?" Victoria said incredulously, peeking out from behind the curtain of her four-poster, "The Weird Sisters are going to be there!"

Ginny had to laugh at this. Victoria was a bit of a Weird Sisters fanatic. "Would you like me to do a recording charm, Vicki, so you can hear them when I get back?"

"_Would_ you?" Victoria asked, her eyes going wide.

Ginny fought back another laugh. She'd meant that as a joke. "Sure, I will," she said. "I'd better get down to the common room. Neville's probably waiting."

"Have fun!" Claudia called after her.

At this, Ginny turned in the doorway and shot an indignant look at Natalie. "You think I won't?" She grinned and headed down the spiral staircase.

She'd been right. Neville was waiting. He was staring uncertainly at the stairs to the girls' dormitory and shifting from one foot to the other in his adorable Neville-like way. He wore a set of dark blue robes that were quite large on him. He reminded Ginny of a picture you'd find on a greeting card of a little boy dressed up like an adult to look cute.

"'Lo, Ginny," he said as he caught sight of her. "You look nice."

"Thank you, Neville," Ginny said brightly. "You're not too shabby yourself."

Neville blushed. "Erm - shall we go, then?" he asked, holding out a pudgy arm.

"Certainly." Ginny said, accepting the proffered arm. They proceeded to walk across the common room and out the portrait hole.

There was a large crowd in the entrance hall waiting for the ball to start, everyone dressed up in festive colors. She supposed that she and Neville must look a little odd in muted colors of dark blue and faded white. Well, at least her hair stood out. She spotted Hermione (who wore the lavender-blue dress she'd helped to pick out in Hogsmeade) and made her way over to her, half-pulling Neville along.

"Hermione!" she breathed as she came near her friend, "You look _stunning!_"

This was no understatement. Hermione's robes fit her form very nicely, and her hair, far from its usual bushiness, was pulled into a complicated knot at the top of her head. She had just enough makeup on her face to highlight her features. If Ginny hadn't recognized Hermione's robes, she wouldn't have recognized Hermione at all.

"I haff not met you," said Viktor Krum, Hermione's date. "You are a friend of Hermy-own, yes?"

"My name is Ginny," she said, holding out her hand for Viktor to shake, "and this is Neville."

Viktor shook Ginny's hand, then Neville's. The look on Neville's face was somewhere between awe and shock. He gulped. "Hello- erm- Vick- er ... Mr. Krum."

"So Hermione," Ginny said, lowering her voice to a whisper, "I suppose my prat of a brother hasn't noticed your teeth yet ..." This had been a running joke between the two of them for the past couple of months.

Hermione blushed. "Well, actually, he did. A couple of days ago ..."

Ginny feigned a look of shock. "_Really?_" she said, raising an eyebrow. "So he _is_ capable of noticing things. I would never have guessed. I mean, it took so long just for him to realize you were a _girl!_"

Hermione didn't have time to reply to this, as Professor McGonagall was calling all of the champions and their partners into the Great Hall.

"That's me!" Hermione said excitedly as she swept through the doors, arm in arm with Viktor.

They were soon followed by Cedric and Cho, Fleur and Roger, and, last of all, Harry and Parvati. Harry looked very nervous, like he was about to perform a triwizard task. He was cute when he was nervous.

She brought herself back into reality. That train of thought would get her nowhere.

The rest of the students were soon admitted into the Great Hall, which, aside from the enchanted ceiling, was hardly recognizable. The house tables were gone and in their place were several small tables, not unlike those you'd see in a restaurant. The walls were strewn with ornate Christmas decorations and there were fairies floating around all over the place.

Ginny and Neville found their way to an empty table and sat down. It wasn't long before Ginny spotted Elisa, her friend from Ravenclaw.

"Hey, 'Lisa!" Ginny called to her. "Over here!"

Elisa made her way toward the table, followed by Dean and another boy she didn't know.

"Geenie," Elisa said in her heavy Italian accent, "Dees ees my friend, Mee-ca-el."

Ginny, who had grown accustomed to her friend's accent, automatically translated the name to Michael. "It's nice to meet you, Michael," she said.

The three of them sat down at the table. Michael sat next to Ginny followed by Elisa, and then Dean. Seamus and Lavender were the next to arrive at the table and take a seat next to Dean and Elisa. Soon afterward, her brother, Ron, took a seat at the table along with his date, Padma Patil.

"What's this? _Two_ of our beloved siblings are sitting at this table?" George said, putting on a posh London air.

"Come, Angelina, we simply _must_ sit here!" Fred said winningly to Angelina.

Angelina gave a mock sigh. "If you insist," she said, and the three of them filled up the last remaining seats at the table.

Ginny had just noticed a menu sitting on her plate. She smiled. She had only been to a fancy restaurant once in her life, when Bill was appointed Head Boy. She remembered telling her plate quite uncertainly that she wanted a grilled cheese sandwich and squealing with delight when it appeared on her plate.

This time, she'd choose a more elagant meal. "Fillet Mignon," she said to her plate, and the steaming food appeared out of nowhere, ready to be eaten.

She looked up to find that everyone else at the table was doing the same, Elisa and Dean doing so with a little hesitation as they were muggle-born.

Pretty soon, everyone was eating, chatting and generally having a good meal.

"You'll have to try our new Canary Creams sometime," Fred was saying to Padma.

"They're unlike anything you've ever eaten before, I'll guarantee you that," George chimed in.

Neville caught Padma's eye, shook his head furiously and mouthed, "_Don't try them!_" causing Padma to eye the twins warily.

"They're not harmful at all!" Fred defended.

"We _swear!_" George said.

Ginny laughed at her brothers' antics and the the mental picture of the look on Padma's face if she ever did eat a Canary Cream.

Elisa was attempting a conversation with Dean, who wasn't paying much attention. He kept looking at the champions' table. Next to them, Seamus and Lavender were pretty well absorbed in eachother. Lavender giggled at just about anything Seamus said, though Ginny doubted Seamus was being _that_ funny.

"So, erm ... Jeanie," said Michael.

"It's Ginny," Ginny corrected.

Michael blushed. "Ginny ... right."

Ginny smiled. "It's okay," she said. "Elisa's accent confuses the best of us."

Michael turned back to eating his chicken, looking embarrased.

"What were you going to say?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Well ... er- it was a bit of a stupid question," he said shyly.

"I bet it wasn't," Ginny pressed on.

"What's it like, being in Gryffindor?" he asked.

Ginny thought for a moment. "Well, I supposed it's not much different from being in any other house. I wouldn't really know how to compare it. I've never been in a different house before."

"I knew it was a stupid queation," Michael said.

"No it wasn't!" Ginny said encouragingly. "It was a very good question! In fact I think I'll ask it myself. What's it like, being in -- er ... what house are you in?"

"Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw, right, so what's it like?"

"It's pretty nice," he said thoughtfully. "Everyone seems to be an expert at something, so you can always get help with your homework. And Elisa's always playing her piano. She's really good."

"_Grazie,_" said Elisa, looking flattered. She seemed to have given up on trying to talk to Dean.

"She just said 'thank you,' right?" Michael whispered to Ginny.

"Yeah, I think she did," Ginny whispered back.

"You're welcome," Michael said to Elisa.

"Well, Ravenclaw sounds like a really nice place to be," Ginny said. "We only have one genius in our house, and she gets pretty tired of people asking her for help, and we certainly don't have in-house entertainment." She nodded toward Aeterna at the last statement. "... besides Fred and George, of course ..." she added as an afterthought.

"Entertainment?" George asked defensively.

"Is that all we are?" Fred asked.

"We're _hurt!_"

"Scarred for _life!_"

"How can you _say_ such a thing?"

Angelina, who was sitting in between the two, her eyes volleying between them as they spoke, said, "Oy! Would you two cut it out?"

"My sincerest apologies, dear Angelina!" Fred's voice turned instantly from deeply hurt to dramatically apologetic.

"Can you ever forgive us lowly beaters?" George pleaded.

Angelina rolled her eyes. "I _suppose_ ..."

~~*~*~~

"Oh! Sorry!" Neville said as he trod on Ginny's foot for about the tenth time during that song. His face went scarlet as he focused his attention more closely on his feet.

"It's all right," Ginny said, trying not to let any hint of exasperation show in her voice.

The Weird Sisters were playing _Spellbound_, which just so happened to be one of Victoria's favorites, she had her wand recording in a hidden pocket.

"It's so nice to see everyone dressed up, don't you think?" Ginny asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Huh?" Neville had been concentrating on his feet and hadn't been listening to what Ginny said. His moment of inattentiveness cost him, however, because he trod on her foot yet again.

Both Ginny and Neville winced.

"Sorry ... again." Neville said.

"It's all right," she said again.

"What were you saying?"

"It's not important," Ginny said quickly so Neville wouldn't lose his concentration again.

They fell into silence. Ginny took this opportunity to look around.

Hermione seemed to be enjoying the company of Viktor Krum. They were dancing companionably, apparently deep in a very interesting conversation. George passed by her, extravagantly twirling an imaginary partner and finishing with a dip. Elisa was dancing with a decidedly disinterested Dean, who kept glancing toward a spot behind Ginny. Just as she and Neville had rotated around enough so that Ginny could see what Dean was so interested in, she felt a sharp pain in her foot.

"Sorry," Neville said once again.

Ginny smiled vaguely at him. She didn't feel like saying 'It's all right' again.

A few meters away, Harry was being steered around the spot by Parvati. Harry didn't look very thrilled, but at least Parvati wasn't stepping on his feet.

The song ended and they broke apart.

"Would you like to sit down?" Neville asked.

"Sure," Ginny said, trying not to sound too relieved. They made their way to one of the tables on the edge of the dance floor. Ginny sat down, but Neville remained standing.

"I'll - er" he hesitated, "I'll get some drinks, shall I?"

"I could go for something," Ginny said. "I just hope the twins have spiked it...."

Neville's eyes widened in horror.

"Kidding!"

Neville made his way toward the refreshment table, not seeming thoroughly convinced that the punch wasn't spiked.

This wasn't half bad, Ginny mused, resting her chin on her hand. She wasn't sure her feet would ever recover from dancing with Neville, but dinner was nice, and the music was nice too (she checked to make sure her wand was still recording).

A glance across the room told her that Harry and Ron weren't as pleased with the Ball as she was. Both of them were slumped in their chairs, watching the dancers and partymakers with disdain. Parvati and Padma Patil, who flanked the two of them on either side, did not look much happier.

After pushing back a feeling of pity, Ginny decided that she was glad Harry wasn't having a good time. It gave her a feeling of satisfaction knowing that she wasn't letting a stupid old crush get in the way of a great party.

"So _this_ is where the life of the party went off to." Ginny turned around in her seat and found herself looking up at Michael, the boy she'd sat next to at dinner. He grinned as he once again took the seat to her left.

"I'm not the life of the party. I believe my brothers fill that spot." She nodded toward Fred and George, who currently had Angelina trapped, London Bridge style.

"Take the key and lock 'er up,

Lock 'er up,

Lock 'er up!"

Michael laughed. "Yeah, that's probably true, but you're the most interesting person to talk to."

Ginny smiled, at that moment realizing that her reaction would've been very different had it been Harry saying this to her instead of Michael.

"Listen, Ginny, d'you --"

"I got the drinks," Neville said carrying two cups of bright red punch and sporting a spill down his front.

"Thanks, Neville," Ginny said, accepting her drink and gulping half of it down in one go.

Neville sat down and eyed his own punch suspiciously for a moment before taking a sip himself.

" ... of all the idiotic things to say ... 'Fraternizing with the enemy,' _Honestly_...." Hermione was storming past in a rage. She looked almost like her normal self.

"What's up, Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"I'm going to _murder_ your idiot of a brother, that's what's up," Hermione said moodily. "I hope you don't mind, Ginny."

"Eh," Ginny said, waving her hand dismissively. "He's not much fun, anyway. So what did he do this time?"

"He said I was 'fraternizing with the enemy' because I came to the Yule Ball with Viktor. Seems to think I'm giving him the inside edge on winning the Cup!"

Ginny smacked her forehead with her palm. "Hermione," she said as she straightened up, "you have my full permission to kill him ... or at least knock some sense into his head."

"Thank you, Ginny. I might just do that." She paused. "Have you seen Viktor, by the way? He was supposed to be getting drinks...." She was beginning to settle back into 'dignified Hermione' mode.

"No, I haven't," Ginny said.

"Oh well. He'll turn up." Hermione said, and strode off toward the refreshment table.

"What was _that_ all about?" Michael asked amusedly.

"My brother is a brainless git," Ginny said.

"Which one?"

"Ron. The tall one who came with Padma Patil."

"Oh, him?" Michael asked, gesturing across the room to where Ron and Harry were sitting, now Patil-less. "He seems a rather sulky bloke if you ask me."

"Tell me about it...." Ginny muttered.

"Ginny?" Neville asked tentatively. "I - I don't suppose you'd want to dance again...." He looked as though he wasn't too thrilled with the idea.

"No, I think I'll sit down a while," Ginny said.

"Excuse me, haff you seen Herm-own-ninny?" came a gruff voice from behind Ginny. Ginny faught back a smirk. Well, at least it was better than 'Hermy-own'....

She turned to face Viktor. "She went off that way," she said, pointing to the refreshment table.

"Thank you."

"D'you want another drink?" Michael asked, gesturing to Ginny's empty glass. "I was planning on getting some myself."

"Sure," Ginny said, handing Michael her glass.

Michael took the glass, smiled, and departed.

"That was sweet of him," Ginny said.

"Listen, Ginny," said Neville, fiddling with his own empty glass. "If you'd rather dance with him, I don't mind." He looked down as he said this.

Ginny wasn't sure what to say. In truth, she _did_ want to dance with Michael, at least (she kicked herself for thinking this) more than she wanted to dance with Neville.

"I mean," Neville continued, "it's not like I'm any good or anything."

She was about to repremand Neville for not having confidence in himself when Michael returned with the drinks.

"Here you go," he said cheerily.

"Thank you," Ginny said, now feeling a bit flustered.

"Well, I'm off," Neville said, standing up and giving Ginny a meaningful look. "I think I'll take a walk through the garden or something."

There was an uncomfortable silence as Ginny and Michael drank their punch. Ginny stole a glance at Michael. If she had one unwanted gift, it was the ability to tell when a guy liked her. She knew that Neville liked her, but then again, she figured that Neville liked any girl that was nice to him. She suspected that Colin might like her as well, but this was the first time she'd known a guy to like her that she might like back.

_Well, if you like me,_ she thought to herself, _make a move, already!_

"D'you want to dance?" Michael asked as if reading her mind.

"Sure." She accepted his hand and let him lead her out to the dance floor.

Ginny found that she really enjoyed dancing with Michael. Not only was it devoid of any foot-trodding, it was fun. Michael wasn't afraid to add the occasional flourish to his dancing. A spin, a dip, maybe even a bit of fancy footwork.

"Where in the world did you learn how to dance like this?" Ginny asked, catching her breath from a particularly unexpected dip.

"Lessons," Michael said nonchalantly. "My mum insisted on them."

"Really?" Ginny asked, interested. "My mum insisted on them as well, only she gave them."

"Did she?"

"Oh, yes," Ginny reminisced. "Everyone hated them, though ... well, everyone except Fred and George."

Michael laughed.

"I had to be _everyone's_ partner," Ginny said, smiling.

"It shows."

"So what was it like for you?" Ginny asked. "Growing up, I mean. Any crazy brothers?"

"No, actually," Michael said. "I'm an only child."

"Really?" Ginny asked, decidedly pushing the thought of a certain _other_ only child out of her head. "Can I switch with you then?"

"Sure!" Michael joked. "Only, I think my mum might be able to tell the difference."

Ginny gave a theatrical sigh. "Alas, mine too! _Must_ all mums be so observant?"

"I'm afraid it's their job," Michael said with a laugh.

The rest of the evening passed in a flurry of dancing, punch-drinking, and intelligent conversation. Ginny had to admit that she'd never had so much fun in her entire life ... well, except for the Quidditch Cup. When the clock struck midnight, Ginny was surprised by how quickly the time had passed.

"I had a really great time," Ginny said to Michael as he walked her back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Me too," Michael said softly. He'd suddenly retreated back to the shy person he was when she'd first met him. Ginny wondered what was going on.

"Well, here we are," Ginny said as they approached the portrait hole.

"Yeah ..." he said, hesitating. "Ginny?"

"Yeah?" "Well -- I'm not sure when the next Hogsmeade weekend is, but I was -- that is ... er, would you come with me?"

Ginny smiled. "Sure."

"Really?" he asked, a grin spreading across his face.

"Yeah, it sounds great."

"Great!" Michael said. They stood there for a moment.

"Well, I'll see you then?" Ginny said, just as it was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Yeah, see you." Michael said as he turned to leave. Ginny watched him walk down the corridor and out of sight, wondering if she might be dreaming.

"Pashword pleezh," said a slurred voice behind her.

Ginny turned around and gave the password ("Fairy Lights") to a very drunken Fat Lady who obligingly lifted to reveal the portrait hole.

She floated up to her room in a daze, completely ignoring Ron and Hermione, who were arguing heatedly over Viktor Krum. When she arrived, she was met by a rustling of bed covers and a flurry of questions about the Yule Ball.

Ginny waited for the chatter to subside. When everyone had quieted down, she said, "I met someone."

There was a chorus of gasps. Ginny's roommates looked stunned.

"You _have_ to tell us everything," said Victoria, seating Ginny on the edge of her bed. Everyone gathered round.

Ginny, grinning broadly, began her story. 


End file.
